Common trailer mounts and hitch systems have been traditionally been used to transport secondary vehicles, such as trailers, boats and other recreational vehicles and miscellaneous freight. However, such common systems are limited in their practical usefulness, especially when such common trailer system are used to load and unload vehicles and/or cargo on included surfaces, or unloading and unloading, for example vehicles into, and out of water. In such situations, common stationary mounts must operate as a single static mount while the attached vehicle must maneuver the trailer mount into the proper positions. For example, in the case of inserting or withdrawing a boat from a body of water a vehicle must be maneuvered to the approximate edge if not further into the body of water before the boat may be released from the trailer mount. A similar situation must also occur when re-engaging a boat to a trailer mount to remove it from the water. Such vehicle maneuvering can be problematic, if not impossible, where there are limited number of individuals to assist, as well as steep incline of some boat ramps. Such maneuvers may be further complicated in instances where a body of water does not have a dedicated boat ramp or other inlet capability. In many instances such as these it is possible for the vehicle to enter the water, or its approximate edge and become stuck. Clearly a comprehensive solution is required to the drawbacks of such traditional stationary vehicle maneuvered trailer systems. As such, there is a need for a single comprehensive solution to the limitations described above.
The foregoing problems regarding conventional trailer mount systems may represent a long-felt need for an effective solution to the same. While implementing elements may have been available, actual attempts to meet this need may have been lacking to some degree. This may have been due to a failure of those having ordinary skill in the art to fully appreciate or understand the nature of the problems and challenges involved. As a result of this lack of understanding, attempts to meet these long-felt needs may have failed to effectively solve one or more of the problems or challenges here identified. These attempts may even have led away from the technical directions taken by the present inventive technology and may even result in the achievements of the present inventive technology being considered to some degree an unexpected result of the approach taken by some in the field.
The current inventive technology provides a single comprehensive solution, which in some embodiments is expressed in various methods and apparatus for an extendable trailer mount. In certain embodiments, the invention including an extendable trailer mount that utilized both threaded and/or non-threaded drive train mechanisms coupled with a driver, such as a self-contained driver, such as an electrical motor drawing power from the vehicle itself. Additional embodiments may also include an improved drive train system incorporating interlinked extendable and stationary cylinders which house a threaded drive shaft, again, responsive to a driver. This drive may generate rotational movement of the drive shaft which is threaded into a drive shaft coupler which is further secured to a guide cylinder. This guide cylinder may further be secured to an extendable cylinder as discussed below. Rotational movement of the drive shaft may cause the drive shaft coupler and associated guide cylinder to traverse the length of the drive shaft which in turn, similar to a mechanical ram, exerts an extension or retraction force on an extendable cylinder causing a responsive and desired movement. This extension and retraction may be controlled by a user through a controller, such as a push-button actuator, which may be wired or wireless. Such a novel drive train and extension/retraction mechanism overcomes the limitations of traditional trailer systems discussed above. For example, the current invention allows for not only a novel drive train and extension mechanisms, such systems are sufficiently tractable and well as sturdy to resist both weight, sheet and other torsional forces that are applied to trailer system, for example, during loading and unloading a vehicle in water at an include. In this manner, a vehicle may be positioned at a safe distance from a body of water and inserted and/or retracted from the water through movement of the extendable trailer mount.